


Rise

by Mythos43213



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Older Gravity Falls, Redemption, Some not so nice stuff, older dipper, older mabel - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-17
Updated: 2017-07-01
Packaged: 2018-10-06 21:15:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10344696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mythos43213/pseuds/Mythos43213
Summary: Dipper's done something. And now, he lives in Gravity Falls. His situation has changed...but he's not the only one...





	1. Chapter 1

Rise  
A Gravity Falls Fanfic  
By  
Joshua Trujillo

Part 1

There was blood. So much blood! Mabel Pines had never seen so much blood coming out of one person, and this was from a girl that had, not too many years ago, encountered puberty.

She held her brother in the gloaming of the evening. There on the field they lay, panting, from where she'd dragged him off the other boy. So much blood! Dipper Pines shook. Exhaustion began to take him as blood dripped from his hand. His own. The blood of the other boy. Bits of bone.

His name was, had been, Wilson Banks. For the horrors her brother had visited upon him, she felt nothing. She had felt nothing for a long time and would, if the words of the therapist had been any indication, not feel anything for a long time to come. She had told Mabel she would need time to heal.

Wilson Banks...he had been so dreamy at one time. The lights from the bonfire mixed with the reds and the blues as the police arrived...

***

Dipper hadn't reacted to the words of the judge. He sat in the chair in the judge's chambers. He looked at the floor. He looked out the window onto the warm, May afternoon.

"Son," the judge said after taking his seat. "Do you deny what you did to Mr. Banks?"

"Does he deny what he did to my sister?"

"He's been exonerated of that supposed crime, Mr. Pines."

That was the other lawyer.

"Mr. Clark," the judge growled. "I'm the one asking the questions here, thank you. Mr. Banks might buy his son's freedom, but he didn't buy my silence."

"I did it," Dipper said quietly. "Because of what he did to Mabel, I would do it again and again."

"That is a serious crime, Dipper," the judge said. "However your motivations, which, honestly, are understandable. Justice, however skewed, was served. On the other hand, you did almost kill the boy. I can't just ignore that."

Dipper nodded, but still didn't look at the judge.

"Throw all the circumstances that led to that night together and you get a mess," the judge flipped through the pages on his desk. "Mr. Pines...Mrs. Pines, doesn't Dipper have a relative in...Oregon?"

"Yes, your honor," Dippers dad said. "My father's brothers. Stanford and Stanley Pines. Dipper and Mabel spend their summers there."

"Gravity Falls," the judge mused. "Yes. I think this will provide an adequate compromise to this indelicate situation..."

For the first time, Dipper looked up.

***

"I'm...sorry about this, Grunkle Ford."

Ford Pines waved again at the back of the car as it made its' way back south to Piedmont, California. He blew out a breath and turned back to his young charge. Now, truly his charge. Well, his and his brothers', which may have exacerbated the situation in the first place, but that was neither here nor there.

Dipper had grown even since Ford last saw him, which had been the disastrous, wonderful summer before. The boy was almost a man, at least in body, but today, he looked rough. He'd broken his left hand in several locations and either he or Stanley or, maybe, Soos if it came to that, would have to take him to the hospital to have the staples removed and for therapy and all the rest. He thought it odd that the father of the boy Dipper assaulted paid for the surgeries and the therapy. Dipper just had to go. And go he would.

Dipper looked at him, the bandage covering his left eye sat in place of his usual hat. Scratches and bruises covered the rest of him. He didn't quite look as bad as when they'd arrived in the hospital in Kathmandu that past summer, but then, neither did he.

"Dipper," he had to think of what to say. "I can't say I'm disappointed in what you did, because truly I'm not. If Stanley was a girl and-"

"Grunkle Ford, I really don't want to talk about it."

"Of course!" Ford nodded. "Of course. You need rest. I suppose it's a little self serving, in my case, but welcome home."

He tried to smile in return, but the guilt in his heart pounded down on Dipper like a mountain of gnomes. Tears began to fall and, for the first time since that night, he couldn't hold his emotions in check any longer. The tears fell and Dipper crumpled to a seat on the steps there. He coughed and tried to sputter something, but nothing coherent came out. He felt Ford sit and pull him into a hug and all he could manage were more tears.

He hadn't wanted this. He'd wanted to go to jail! He should be punished! But...wasn't this punishment? Confinement and probation? His tears slowed and he drabbled into a rag he usually kept in his pocket.

"Grunkle Ford," he said quietly. "Maybe I'll want to talk about it later. Everyone'll want to know why I'm here anyway...then there's the people at school and all that. My probation officer-"

"You know who that probation officer is, Dipper?" Ford smirked. "It's me!"

"What?"

"I did a stint as a cop in my early thirties," he smiled wistfully. "Of course, it wasn't in this dimension, but how different could it be? I mean, other than the slime? Besides, when I talked to the judge, he seemed to want to be lenient on you. I'll keep you on the straight and narrow, Dipper."

Dipper felt tightness in his chest. He didn't deserve...but, he did, though...didn't he?

"Come on, son," he patted Dipper lightly on his back. "Let's get inside before the others arrive and there's lots of questions. Can you make it up the stairs?"

Dipper nodded. Ford picked up a couple cases and Dipper followed him inside and up the stairs. Home.

***

"Stanley," Ford rolled his eyes. Again. "You're not helping the situation."

"All I'm sayin' is that I agree with his dad!" Stan Pines raised his bushy eyebrows. "Why in God's name DID you stop?!"

Dipper winced again as he tried to eat his soup. His face hurt, like, all over. And not a good kind of hurt either. At least he hadn't broken anything there. His hand ached, though Grunkle Stan had promised him better painkillers than they'd given him at the pharmacy. Dipper didn't want to know, he was just happy for the offer.

"I would have ripped him in half!" Stan growled as he opened a beer. "I may still do that. This kid's in which hospital now?"

"We have one Pines in law troubles, Stan-"

A quiet moment of introspection passed between the two brothers.

"You..." Stan smirked. "You remembered who you were talking to, huh?"

Ford facepalmed slowly and sat down at the other side of the table. He blew out a breath and picked up the orders from the court.

"Okay!" he said as he flipped through them. "The orders are that you are confined to the town and environs of Gravity Falls, Oregon, until such time as your 18th birthday occurs. The Mystery Shack will be your residence of note and you have to check in with me once a week for a status update."

"See? That last bit won't be hard!" Stan grinned.

Dipped shared his smile. When he got the story from Ford about exactly why his great nephew looked like he'd been through the wringer, it was all both of them could do to keep him from road tripping to California. Stan, naturally, loved both he and Mabel to distraction, even when he tried to hide it. And Wilson...Wilson...

"Dipper," Ford said quietly. "Don't dwell on what you did or to whom you did it. You had, I think we all agree, good cause. Even if your methods were more Stanley and less me. Try to keep yourself in the now. That will help you heal your mind, okay?"

"Yeah," Dipper sighed and nodded. "Thanks Grunkle Ford. I guess...people here know Mabel. They really like her and explaining what I'm doing here is-"

"We still have a couple weeks before you have to start school, kiddo," Ford said. "We can let a couple people know and maybe build up a buffer. You know, I think Stanley and I are too close to give you good ideas on what you should do. I, for one, think truth and honesty would win the day. What that boy did was absolutely unforgivable and you unforgived him. Right in the face."

"I can't say how proud I am of that!" Stan grinned. "I thought the nerd trip you two took last year was bunk, but it really toughened you up! You're really a Pines!"

Dipper smiled. His first genuine smile in weeks. For some stupid, silly, assinine reason, he felt better.

"Okay, if you're finished with dinner, head on up to bed," Ford nodded. "We'll have to get a better mattress tomorrow, Stanley-"

"Why?"

"Stan, I can't sleep on that thing," Ford sighed. "And I'm used to sleeping on ancient bits of alien technology!"

He let them bicker and smiled. Still smiling, Dipper made his way to the bathroom, then to his room. He lay gingerly down on the old bed, his legs now hanging slightly over. He had grown tall, taller than Mabel. Taller than his dad, even. Dipper raised his left hand and turned the cast as much as he could. Apparently, he'd grown strong too. Good thing it was his off-hand. Dipper turned over painfully and drifted off.

***


	2. Chapter 2

Rise  
A Gravity Falls Fanfic  
By  
Joshua Trujillo

Part 2

Two days felt like a long time. He supposed, when you were a kid and had no troubles in the world, two days was an eternity. Hadn't been too long ago that he had been a kid. Time was changeable, especially within his own mind. His hand throbbed, but still he squeezed the little blue ball. He had just come from therapy. Both of them.

It was fortunate that both his physical therapist and his shrink were in the same complex of buildings near the hospital. Made for a simple walk from the Shack. Sure, he had use of a car. He could have even driven it down to do his therapy, but the time the previous summer he'd spent with Ford had turned him into a walker. Hiking through jungle and walking over mountains kind of did that to a person.

Squeeze. Squeeze. A couple kids stopped their conversation as they walked past him. Furtive glances shot behind them, as the hurried along. People had been strange in this strange little town. Like they didn't even want to acknowledge his existence. He supposed they didn't. Why would they? What had he done for them lately?

His mental therapy had been court ordered anger management. Like he needed that, right? Still, he had to go and it was all managed in the same time period, so he went. The doctor had been nice enough, though Dipper nearly had a heart attack. He was extremely young, mop of blonde hair and a nameplate on his desk that read Bill. Bill the Doctor said that he wasn't a demon from another dimension. He knew all about Dipper, as he had been in Gravity Falls back then. He knew about Bill the Demon.

He thought the current head in sand attitude benefitted no one, but couldn't make headway against it, and so did his best to keep the mental issues caused by Weirdmageddon in check. It was certainly a unique practice, but he hoped he's helped.

Squeeze. Squeeze. Dipper had nowhere to be. He hadn't been rendered utterly useless, but he felt like that around the Shack. For the meantime, he had taken a walk around Gravity Falls. Some places had closed, but many new businesses had come in, opened up shop and wondered why the hell they'd done such a thing in a town like Gravity Falls. Dipper smirked in the thought that, perhaps, Bill had been using his influence. Bill the Demon. Not his shrink.

Bill the Demon was gone though. For good. They'd seen to that years ago and, for all the times that he and Mabel had been back to Gravity Falls, there hadn't been the slightest indication of his return. He was gone. Dipper blew out a breath, took off his hat, and swiped at his forehead.

The newest shop, as he could tell, sat right across from his current seat, a green and white symbol above green letters. A giant galactic bunny. Dipper wondered how long it would take Starbun's to invade the town. Turned out, it hadn't taken long. Dipper supposed it was a matter of time, but what the hey! A frozen latteatto sounded good. He stood and made his way in.

A chime blurbled when he opened the door and he smiled to himself as a wave of wonderfully cool air, conditioned to peak Washington State freshness, washed over him. Posters of socially acceptable happy people and diverse agendas splayed across the walls with tiny flyers held below, where you could pick up one and make yourself useful in the world. You leech. He chuckled to himself as he stepped up to the counter. The bored girl behind the counter looked up at him.

"Welcome to Starbun's. Can I take your-" she paused.

Dipper noted the pause and looked down at her. Her face looked familiar, but it had changed. From behind her green cap sprang a huge, whitish ponytail, held high and full, like he last remembered it. Huge, blue does eyes widened in a face that he'd always secretly loved to look at. Flawless, really...and totally out of place here!

"Holy fuckin' shit!"

Dipper started at her explosion.

"Language, Pacifica!" another voice growled from somewhere nearby.

"It's Dipper!"

A crash and clang followed as a tiny, very cute Asian girl bounced to the counter, then around the counter, then, arms outstretched, jumped into his arms in a swirl of shiny, jet black hair.

"Holy fuckin' shit!" she laughed next to his neck. "Dipper Pines!"

Dipper winced as Candy swung from his neck. He put her down gently, but laughed himself. He looked back to Pacifica, who had crossed her arms and looked...jealous? Pacifica Northwest chuckled and broke into a big smile. She extended her hand across the counter and Dipper shook it, slightly dazzled by her perfect teeth. Good god, those were white!

"Dipper Pines," she said. "It's been, what? Two years since I saw you last? I think last time was when I had to get Mabel out of the changing room at the pool-"

"Her last sugar overdose," Dipper nodded. "I remember it well. God, two years?"

"It's been longer since I saw you!" Candy huffed as she punched his arm. "But damn, Dipper, what happened?"

He raised up his left hand and sighed with a shrug.

"It's...I guess it's a long story."

"You changed," Pacifica remarked quietly. "You got tall..."

"And buff!" Candy squeezed his right arm with a grin. "You look good, Dipper. You want to take me out Saturday?"

"Candy?!" Pacifica blurted. "What if I wanted-"

Her eyes grew big as the blush rose in her face. Candy chuckled slowly as Dipper blushed slightly on his own. He sighed.

"Look, this just happened a week ago," he said. "And it still really hurts. I mean, I've had surgery and they were really good about it. I'm already in therapy too...but man, it hurts."

"Are you saying you're too injured to date a pretty girl-" Candy began, but Pacifica cleared her throat. "Or two?"

"A date is nothing, Dipper," Pacifica said. "What if I come pick you up and we go to Fozzi's?"

"That place on the corner?" Candy made a face. "You always eat there. It's horrible."

"Just because the owner's son didn't want more than one date with you."

"Shut up!" Candy growled. "How about you mind the shop while Dipper and I catch up. Dipper, sweetheart, what did you want?"

***

Dipper spun the mocha around in his hands. Candy had taken him into the back room, against Pacifica's grumblings. Candy had become, through no small amount of work on her part, store manager, in a short amount of time. That hadn't been long after it opened. Pacifica came in at the start of summer and had rose quickly to become number two in the store, though both of them had told their bosses that school would take priority. That endeared them even further.

"Something changed," Dipper said. "Both of you have. I suppose time will do that, but-"

Pacifica came into the room and, once again, took off his hat and ran her fingers through his hair. As the door chimed, she mashed his hat back on and went back out front.

"Change is what happens when you're not looking, Dipper."

"I guess," he said as he straightened his cap. "I mean, Pacifica, sure. But you too!"

"I know," she winked at him. "Admittedly, I'm kind of a man-killer now. Shocking, I know, but the sex is great."

Dipper stopped with his drink at his lips. Candy stretched and fluffed her raven black hair as she did so. He set down his drink as she giggled cutely at him.

"...this is my fault, isn't it?"

"Probably!" she laughed.

"I never saw that in you, ya know?"

"You never looked," Candy said. "But then, we were still kids too. You want a peak now?"

"Candy!" Pacifica shouted from the other room. "Stop flirting with Dipper!"

They chuckled. Dipper took a drink and nodded.

"Real confidence looks good on you."

Candy gave him a genuine smile.

"Thanks! I think it was Weirdmageddon that finally did it. We had to fight. We had to survive. And we did. And you did. And now we're all back, like it never happened."

"...but it did," Dipper said quietly.

"But it did," Candy nodded. "Everyone over a certain age wants to act like it never happened."

"Apparently, it makes me a pariah too."

"Nah," Candy said. "Everyone is still dealing with it in their own way and some people just want to have someone to blame. So, they chose the one person that can't fight back."

Dipper smirked and raised his left hand, "I can fight back, you know."

"You haven't been here in two years, Dipper," Candy shrugged. "As you said, things have changed. And, by the way, speaking of which, what happened? Why are you here now and not earlier in the summer?"

Dipper took a breath and another drink of his mocha. He started, as best he could. There were still bits and pieces of which he was unsure, but he knew the majority of the story. He told Candy the whole thing, the whole ugly, putrid mess of a situation that lead him to beating the slimy fuck out of the boy. He hadn't known everything, but he knew enough. Candy grew more solemn as the story grew. At least she hadn't acted like Soos, who he had the distinct displeasure to recount the story to the night before.

He'd never seen Soos break down like that before. Soos wasn't a fool or ignorant, much as he might act like it. He had kept himself purposefully naive as a defense mechanism, but there hadn't been any defense for this and Dipper had felt horrible for telling him. Only the efforts of Melody and Grunkle Stan had kept Soos from heading out then and there on a rampage. Dipper had heard him that night, crying. After the painkillers kicked in, Dipper felt worse that at least he wouldn't have to hear it until morning. What kind of person did that make him?

"People have to know, Dipper," Pacifica said from the doorway. "No. That's wrong. People don't get to know. Her friends do."

She took off her cap and rubbed at her face.

"She knew that some people would have to be told about it," Dipper said. "But she was...just really angry that I would be forced to tell people anything about it."

"You still have to take care of yourself, you know?" Candy said softly. "It affects you too. You're her brother."

"Are you gonna call her?" Pacifica asked of Candy.

"Yes," Candy said after a beat. "I understand why she didn't call me though. I can't imagine what's going on inside her head."

"I..." Pacifica blew out a breath. "I won't call. She and I are okay, but this is not okay. This is all kinds of horrible. It's...it's okay if you don't want that date, Dipper."

"No, it's not!" Candy blurted. "Dipper needs to have fun too and, well, he needs to be with friends."

Dipper raised his hand as he got to his feet.

"Guys," he said. "I need to get some rest. My hand is not going to be happy with me during school and I have to keep my grades up. Part of my parole."

He blew out a breath and brushed past Pacifica as he walked to the front of the store. 

"Thanks for the drink," he tossed it in the trash bin. "I'll be around if you need me."

He gave them both as much of a smile as he could, turned and walked out. Pacifica couldn't help but think on how he'd changed. She hadn't moved much as he went past and she realized he was indeed taller...

"Damn," Candy almost whispered next to her. "He's got a great ass!"

"Fucking Christ, Candy!"

Pacifica threw up her arms and went back to the counter.

"Language, Pacifica..."


	3. Chapter 3

Rise  
A Gravity Falls Fanfic  
By  
Joshua Trujillo

Part 3

Dipper sighed again as he pushed the broom around the room.

"You know," he said to the room in general. "I'm not an invalid. I can do more than push a broom around."

"We let you do some light inventory too," a sweet voice said from the other side of the counter. "You should be thankful I talked Soos into that."

Melody gave him a smirk. Dipper chuckled and shook his head. The vending machine creaked loudly as it opened.

"I just-"

"Dude," Soos said as he emerged from the behind the vending machine. "Your job is to get better and get good grades. Do you know what Stan would do to me if you hurt yourself working here?"

Soos slammed the machine door shut. Dipper let out a breath and nodded. Stan had been very protective of him since he'd arrived back a week ago. Currently, his grunkle had gone to town to drum up business. Something about flyers and paste. Dipper didn't understand it, but Ford had gone with him.

"I just feel guilty living here and not working," he said. "Especially with Wendy off to college."

"We know," Mel nodded as she helped Soos open boxes. "But some things can't be helped."

"How's the therapy going?" Soos asked.

"It's okay," Dipper shrugged. "The doctor says that my nightmares are probably-"

"I think he meant your hand therapy," Melody said quietly.

"Oh," Dipper chuckled again. "It's okay. It hurts, but that's normal with something like this. At least, that's what the doctors say. It's getting better...day by day."

"At least it's not the hand you wipe with!" Soos grinned.

"Heh. Yeah, showering is hard enough."

"Guys, really," Melody shook her head with a grin.

***

Saturday morning. Dipper stared at the rafters, the bright morning sunlight streaming in through the window at the one end of the room. For the first time since his incident, he hadn't woken up because of a nightmare. He just...woke up. Progress? Dipper supposed it would be something to tell Doctor Bill. Doc William? Bill was what the man preferred, but he also knew of Dipper's connections to the demon, so perhaps he could allow Dipper to call him something else. The man was incredibly nice and helpful and-

A crash from the room below jolted Dipper from his thoughts. Dipper sat up and slipped his pajama pants on. He stood, stretched, and shoved his feet into his slippers. He rubbed his eyes as he made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen.

An open case sat on the table, neatly stacked like a steampunk version of Tetris with all manner of devices. Most of them handheld.

"Dipper!" Soos shouted.

Dipper winced at the volume, but accepted the bowl of cereal that Melody shoved at him. He cradled the bowl and pointed the spoon at the suitcase.

"Reminds me of packing with Grunkle Ford."

"That's because Grunkle Ford IS packing!" Ford said as he came into the room.

He set down three more hand readers, things Dipper recognized easily from their trip the year before.

"I've found evidence that leads me to believe that the Mothman is real!"

"It's a load of crap!" Stan grumbled from behind his paper at the other end of the table. "It was just a bad bridge."

"We're not talking about the Silver Bridge anymore, Stanley," Ford said as he packed. "We're talking about something much older. And, if not completely real, then at least a tolpa."

"Really?" Dipper said through another spoonful of cereal.

"Yes!" Ford grinned. "So, for the next week, I will be in Balmoney County in Ireland, doing research. Looking up old records-well, I don't need to tell you."

Dipper nodded. He knew the whole rigmarole. Ford pushed the lid closed and set his hands on his hips.

"After that, a week in Gallipolis, Ohio-"

"I thought the Mothman was in Point Pleasant?"

Ford grinned widely at Soos.

"You DID do the reading!" he said happily.

Stan dropped his paper, a perplexed look on his face.

"Soos can read?!"

Dipper almost spat out his cereal.

"Yes, Point Pleasant, West Virginia is the epicenter...but..."

"But what?" Dipper asked.

"...it's really creepy," Ford said and had the decency to look embarrassed. "And for us, that says something. Besides, the hotel is right across the river and I can use my points."

Dipper chuckled and set his bowl in the sink.

"When did Soos learn to read?!"

Melody cleared her throat, folded her arms across her chest, and glared at Stan.

"Sorry," Stan grumbled as he went back to his paper.

Dipper smirked at the new dynamic.

"Anyway, Dipper my boy, I'm sorry I have to head out like this, but I know you understand," Ford checked his watch. "Don't worry about your probation stuff. It's all taken care of. Just stay out of trouble for the next couple weeks, okay?"

Dipper absently nodded. His first thought was a question about what trouble he could get into...then he remembered he was in Gravity Falls. Everyone turned as a knock came at the door.

Dipper opened it. Pacifica turned back to the door. Her white pants matched the short jacket she wore, under which was a light purple chamisolle top. Little ruffles scalloped her generous neckline, which Dipper felt he noticed all too well. She cleared her throat and smirked at him.

"Eyes up here, Dipper."

He blushed and looked away as he let her in. She reminded him of her old self, the fashion plate that would have worried about getting a speck of dirt on her if she were to enter some place like the Mystery Shack. Now...he felt a small smile creep on his face.

"And what are you doing still in bed?" she turned on him once inside. "It's like, 10 o'clock!"

"Pacifica," he chuckled. "What are you doing here?"

Both grunkles stuck their heads out from the kitchen.

"We talked about a date, remember?"

"Oh god!" Stan blurted. "He's in trouble already! It's too late!"

Dipper tried not to glare at the man.

"I thought we talked about not going on-"

"You need help!" she said as she poked him in his chest with her finger. "I'm here to help. I need help too. And...well, you can help me."

"Pacifica," Dipper didn't even know where to start. "I'm...I'm a schlep, compared-"

He waved his hands at her outfit.

"Yes, sweetheart, you are," she laughed brightly. "But that doesn't mean you have to stay that way! Besides...I wanted to see you today."

She set her hand at his chest. Dipper silently hoped that she couldn't feel his heart begin to race at her touch...or the way her eyes softened. Or the way she grew an ever so light smile on those lips. She pulled her hand back and smacked him on his chest.

"Now," she said. "Get your ass back upstairs, shower, and get dressed. The shops opened an hour ago!"

"Shops?" Melody said from the doorway.

"Yeah," Pacifica gave them her award winning smile. "Retail therapy always helps me!"

Dipper smirked, turned, and began to climb the stairs again.

"Oh god, it really IS too late!"

"Stanley!"

***

Dipper stuffed a new hat on his head as he stepped back down the stairs, a little bit later. He would have worn his old hat, the one he came here with, but it...had blood on it. Something that Candy had informed him of over the phone the day previous. He hated missing things like that, but he supposed there's been nothing for it.

Laughter broke out from the kitchen as Pacifica's bright voice said that she was in the middle of a story.

"And then he said, 'You'll have to get a doctor to go in and pull it out again!'."

All three broke out in laughter as Dipper leaned on the doorway.

"Ah...Miss Pacifica," Ford wiped at his eyes. "I'm glad to have met you again, but I'm afraid it's time for me to head out. Stanley?"

Grunkle Stan nodded and winked at Dipper as he passed. He hadn't been sure what that meant, but it put him on alert.

Both he and Pacifica followed the grunkles out to the car. Stan got in the driver's side as Dipper pulled Ford into a big hug.

"I have a GoPro now!" Ford said. "This should be fun! Don't do anything that Stanley would do."

"I heard that!" Stan groused from behind the wheel.

He waved at both of them as they drove off.

"Are you ready?"

Dipper sighed and nodded.

"Pacifica," he said. "I really didn't want to go anywhere today, ya know?"

"I know," she set a hand on his shoulder. "Sorry. Retail therapy really works for me, you know? What? You think you're the only one working through things?"

"No! Sorry," Dipper favored her with a wane smile. "I...I know I've been in my own headspace since I got here."

"Yes, you have. Which is another reason to come out with me."

She pursed her lips and waited half a beat.

"Unless..." she drew close and whispered in his ear. "You wanna stay in?"

Dipper blushed heavily as his thoughts immediately began to range toward the gutter. A bright peel of laughter echoed off the trees. She stepped around him and absently fidgeted at his collar. She looked up at him with those gorgeous eyes.

"A lot's happened that you don't know about, Dipper Pines," she said. "I shouldn't be the one to tell you, but it looks like I'm there one that's here. So, let's go."

Dipper nodded. He went back in and closed up the Shack as Pacifica pulled up out front in her SUV.

***

"Okay. First thing that's probably going through your mind is that I'm really different," Pacifica said as they got on the road. "Well...yes. Adversity will tend to do that. Weirdmageddon was the catalyst, I think we can both agree on that. Then...my parents divorced."

She grew quiet for a minute. Dipper looked over to her. The hurt and anger still plain on her face. She sniffed once and collected herself.

"They tried to make it work," she said softly. "We moved out of Gravity Falls for a while, but it just..."

Dipper said nothing. She obviously wanted to talk, so he was going to let her talk. She took another breath.

"All the stuff that happened in those days. There's a lot of people that couldn't accept that it really happened. And the things that my parents did..." she continued. "It tore them apart. Both of them started drinking heavily, so I got a lawyer. I never thought I could divorce my parents, but there you go."

"Emancipation?"

She glanced at him in shock.

"Yes!" a smile crossed her face. "How do you know what that is? I mean, you're a nerd and all, but..."

Dipper laughed.

"There was an 80's movie called Irreconcilable Differences. About a kid that divorces her parents. One of Mabel's movies that I never finished."

"Oh..." Pacifica shook her head. "Well, in this case, the sticking point was the family fortune. The judge said that a third of it was mine...so they took a tenth of the entire thing, gave it to me, and told me to basically go away. Live my life with it."

She glanced at him again, but went back to the story.

"People like to think we were broke and destitute, but that's simply not the case. Daddy didn't get to where he was by being stupid. There was a lot of money there, even after Weirdmageddon. Anyway, after the emancipation, I had to get a job when I turned 15. But it had all kinds of restrictions on what I could do. I went through a lot of small, odd jobs at that time."

"Any favorites?"

She laughed as she shook her head.

"Work? You're kidding, right?"

"Hey, I had a job as math tutor for a while."

"That figures."

They both chuckled.

"No!" Pacifica said. "I don't like to work, but I have to until I turn 18. At that point, I get my part of the fortune that was put in escrow. Basically safe keeping."

He nodded as she fell silent. The shops were, at least as far as Dipper knew, at the newly renovated mall. Newly renovated because a certain demon did all sorts of damage and people hadn't wanted to shop where the walls bled. At least, not from the normal things. He looked out the window. The trees looked the same as they always had. Tall, sturdy. The sameness was deceiving, he knew. There were things out there in these pines that would make the average American widdle themselves in fear. And yet, he went out and looked for them. Why would he do that? He might get hurt! Yeah, that was a possibility. But, as his grunkle had said, he could get killed by a bus. So why not look for something that might kill you instead?

Dipper had to admit, that had been one of the strangest pep talks he'd had. After the incident with the naga in Burma, Ford had been a lot more careful. There were things out there that would kill you. And eat you. A thought struck him.

"Ya know," he said. "That whole thing sounds very you, Pacifica."

"Me?"

"Yeah," he said. "Pro-active. You taking charge of a bad situation."

"I guess?" she said. "After that, I came back to Gravity Falls. Rented out my old room from McGucket. So, I'm back to living in the mansion, even if it only a part. I help the old man with design and building too."

She looked at him.

"What?" she smiled. "I like building things."

"No, I just never pictured you as a grease monkey."

"Hah!" she barked out a laugh. "Nah, I'm more of a grease marmoset."

Dipper chuckled.

"A grease macaque?" she laughed. "I dunno."

She pulled the SUV into the mall parking lot.

***

Dipper sipped at his Coke, washing the painkillers down his throat. He hated the things, but his hand would quickly put him out of commission for doing anything unless he took them. So, he took them and followed Pacifica Northwest around the clothing stores. After the fourth one, he felt like he was in the inside of a montage about shopping. Still and all, Pacifica seemed to be looking for something specific.

"Look, I can imagine that you don't have a ton of money, okay?" Dipper said quietly as she tilted her head at a nice shirt. "Especially not to be spending money on me."

She'd already bought him a nice pair of pants and a good shirt. Good quality. Something Dipper wouldn't have chosen for himself, only because his tastes ran...well, a little more casual. Hers did not.

"You're right in some regard, Dipper," she said as she turned to him. "I don't have the old funds. But I have enough. And every good looking guy needs at least a couple decent outfits for dates."

"...dates...with you?"

She looked up from the shirt and raised an eyebrow at him.

"And if they are?"

"I would..." Dipper blushed heavily as he stammered. "I would like that. But-"

"...but?"

"Well..." he continued to stammer. "I'm...a goob. And you're fantastic!"

She chuckled, but sobered. She lowered her head slightly, he focus turned inward.

"Dipper..." she began softly. "I...went through a lot of stuff when I first moved back. The least of which was that I was in a place where people hated my family and didn't much like me. I think they still don't, but at least they tolerate me."

She fingered the material of the shirt. She turned her eyes back to him.

"I've had to come to some hard truths, not the least of which is that you are the closest thing I've ever had to a real friend." she said as a gentle smile came to her face. "And who would I ever rather date than a real friend?"

Dipper's blush, which had been on a constant level, being out with this gorgeous gal, deepened. Then a thought struck him.

"...is that why you started emailing me and texting me more when I was in Nepal?"

"Nepal?" she blinked a couple times. "Is that why it took so long to get back to me? Also, I always got your messages in the middle of the night."

"Yup," Dipper nodded. "Light there, dark here."

He shrugged.

"Wait," she wrinkled her forehead. "Why were you in Nepal?"

"Grunkle Ford and I were chasing yeti."

"Oh. Sure!" she said mockingly. "That makes sense!"

She giggled at the exasperated look he gave her.

"Did you find any?" she asked.

Dipper motioned her closer, turned his head and lifted a part of his hair.

"You see this line near my ear?"

Indeed, she could make out a small scar, about an inch and a half long, tracing along his skull just above his ear.

"A yeti missed my head with a rock by about that much." Dipper grinned sidelong at her. "Grunkle Ford had a big bruise on his arm from another one, but then the blizzard came down and we had to hunker down to get off the mountain the next day. We were so close!"

They share a chuckle at his enthusiasm and Pacifica quieted again.

"I sound like a broken record, I suppose. Saying I'm a different person..."

Dipper took the shirt gently from her hands and held it up to him. He nodded.

"Change happens," he said. "And we have to make the best of it."

She smiled at him gently as he took the pants from her hands as well. She sighed.

"Besides, these pants make your butt look good."

Dipper stopped and glanced at her.

"You were..." he asked. "Looking?"

She smirked.

"I know Candy was the other day."

"Yeah," Dipper shook his head. "She's really changed."

"She was right."

Pacifica giggled as she bounced down another aisle.

"Wait...what?"

***

Dipper opened his eyes. The rafters above his bed looked the same. His eyes burned slightly. Meant he was still tired. Everything lay quiet around him. In fact, oddly quiet. Melody and Soos should have been back hours ago from his abuelita's. Grunkle Stan had complained that he'd been out too long with Pacifica-

_Pacifica Northwest! Man, she's grown! She's got some great melons on her!_

Fear dropped ice buckets down Dipper's gullet as he spun to a sitting position on his bed. He knew that voice. It haunted every aspect of his life since he was 13. He knew it. He feared it. A familiar eyeball slowly phased into sight in the center of the room, followed by his yellow triangle body.

_Hey, Pine Tree! Long time, no kill. Meaning that it's been a long time and I haven't killed you yet!_

"No-" Dipper breathed. "We killed you!"

_Pft. Pine Tree, didn't you learn anything in Nepal?! Can you kill demons? NO! Of course not._

"We *did* banish you, though!" Dipper growled. "You can't-"

_Of course I can. This is my realm, after all._

Silence floated between them. Bill's body came into focus, then drifted out again...like...

"You're stuck somewhere," Dipper chanced. "Aren't you?"

Bill growled, but just crossed his arms and looked away.

"How do I know you're not a figment?"

_A wet dream? I mean, I don't compare to Pacifica, but damn, who does?_

Dipper snorted. If he was trapped, then maybe he could just stay there. Time to play another hunch...

"Goodnight Bill," Dipper growled. "I'm going back to sleep now."

_Wait! Wait...okay, you win. I am trapped. I'm trapped in your head._

Dipper stopped and frowned. Bill scratched the side of his head area with his ever present cane.

_I know you won't believe me, so I'm going to leave you a present._

A flash-

Dipper sat up in bed. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes, but went through his Tibetan breathing exercises. They calmed him quickly, his heartbeat softening, the sounds of the Shack at night came to him. Quiet sounds from Soos and Melody. Grunkle Stan snoring in his chair. And the faint smell of burnt wood.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as he looked at the center of the room. In the pale moonlight, he could make out a triangular burn mark in the floor.


	4. Chapter 4

Rise  
A Gravity Falls Fanfic  
By  
Joshua Trujillo

Part 4

"...oh dude..." Soos breathed. "That's so not gonna come out."

Dipper looked over to his big friend and saw the fear plain on his face. Melody had to head into town for groceries. Dipper thought that had been a good thing. Only Grunkle Stan and Soos had been in the shop. They were the only ones that needed to know, really.

"We've got problems," Stan said quietly.

All three of them had gathered in Dipper's room, around the burn mark in the floor. A sign from an obvious enemy. A sign none of them had wanted to think about ever again. Stan sat down in Dipper's office chair hard.

"I just don't get it," he scratched his head. "How'd he survive?"

"He...didn't," Dipper raised his hands. "If the teachings I had in Nepal were correct, then Bill is in everyone who was in Gravity Falls that summer. A-a little piece of darkness. An echo-"

"He's still _in_ me?!" Stan shouted.

"Probably not?" Dipper shrugged apologetically. "He was responsible for all that and because of that there's an echo in everyone that was touched by that. When you burned him out of your head, it probably took all of him with it, including the echo."

Stan calmed, but didn't look convinced.

"Why your head, then, dude?"

Dipper sighed and sat on his bed.

"I dunno," he said. "Other than Grunkle Stan, I had the most to do with him back then. Maybe he did it as a fail safe. In case we really did figure out some way to get rid of him."

"You know," Stan said. "He had an awful lot to do with Mabel back then too."

"Yeah," Dipper rubbed his eyes. "Tryin' not to think about that."

"So," Soos took off his hat and scratched his head. "What do we do now?"

Dipper shrugged.

"Don't know that either," he admitted. "I need to talk to Grunkle Ford. I need to do more research. I need to get ready for school...since I think he's trapped, for the most part, in my head, maybe we can contain him until we figure out a way to get him out. For now, I gotta get to therapy."

Stan stood. His eyes narrowed and he scuffed at the burn with his shoe.

***

The day passed in bored tension. Neither Soos, nor Stan, said anything. Dipper was grateful for that. He stopped in to the coffee shop and talked with Candy and Pacifica, though the former groused about not being able to take him shopping as well. Only a date the next night would mollify her. Considering the last time they had a date, he hadn't been too eager to say yes...but had relented under her smile and the devious glint in her eyes.

"What's wrong?"

Dipper looked up from his book and his drink. Pacifica looked down on him, her face a steady gaze somewhere between concern and boredom. He figured it was something she'd had to cultivate in her time back. He found the standard answer of 'nothing' would have been seen right through, so he didn't bother.

"I can't-" Dipper's voice caught. "I can't talk about it now, but I will tell you. I just...I need to do more research, okay?"

It was obvious that wasn't the answer she was looking for, but she accepted it and nodded. As she walked back to the counter, she squeezed his shoulder.

"You need any help," she said quietly. "You know where to find me."

Dipper didn't look up, but he nodded. He couldn't tell her. He couldn't drag more people back in already. Soos and Stan had been a part of the original group and Dipper lived with them. Ford should know too. It was his house, after all. Dipper bid his farewells and headed home.

He couldn't involve them. They actually had their shit together and he wouldn't be the one to interrupt that. He also debated whether or not to call Mabel. True, Bill could, and most likely would, be in her head, if he were anywhere else, but she was out of the Gravity Falls weirdness zone...and was safe. Safer. Kinda safe.

That night, Dipper lay in his bed, half asleep. He felt a tingle that told him he was no longer alone. His teachers in Nepal had been able to help him create, for lack of a better term, demon alarm bells in his head. Dipper had always thought, if they'd included badges for the paranormal, he should have been in the Boy Scouts. He took a breath, cleansing and settling his mind, pushed himself to a sitting position and looked out into the gloaming of the attic at night. He cleared his throat.

"Well?"

_You're different, Pine Tree. I suppose that comes with time. Time isn't something that I get a lot of use out of, you know?_

Dipper smiled slightly. For all his life, he'd never had the upper hand on anything, or anyone. Could it be...?

"You're trapped in my head, right?"

_More like I'm riding you like Yoda riding Luke._

Dipper snorted, but failed to rise to the bait.

"You're controlling me?"

_Only in a couple things. Ever wonder why you used your left hand, when you're right handed?_ Bill shook his head and pointed to the floor in front of him. _By the way, a salt circle?_

Dipper's gentle smile never wavered.

_Pine Tree, even your sister would know better._

Dipper said nothing as Bill floated from the center of the well placed salt circle, toward the edge nearest him. The look on his translucent face as he smacked into the real barrier was something that Dipper would keep with him for the rest of his life.

_What the serious fuck?!_

"Does everyone have a potty mouth these days?" Dipper sighed. "Even Mabel..."

Bill backed up as he rubbed his head. He floated down and studied the salt circle.

_What? She says fuck, now?_

"Pft...no," Dipper chuckled. "Her thing is making up curses. Think if Lisa Frank hit her hand with a hammer."

Bill carefully reached out and brushed away the salt, revealing a hearty, two stage, symbol circle. Bill floated back up and nodded.

_You know, I should be pissed at this,_ Bill mused. _But considering our history, I suppose I can't be mad._

"No, you can be mad," Dipper's smile turned to a smirk. "You just can't DO anything about it."

_I could, if I were whole. I would rend your mind blank, Pine Tree-_

"Sure sure," Dipper waved his hand. "But you're not whole. In fact, according to my research, you're an echo. An after image."

_...a remnant,_ Bill said quietly.

"So..." Dipper turned serious. "How do I get you out of my head and gone from my life forever?"

_That's the rub, ain't it? Someone out there has the other half. The other remnant. With that, I could exit your dimension back to my own where I could heal. As it is, I'm trapped in your melon._

"Great," Dipper rubbed his nose. "Who has the other half?"

_Dunno. Could be anyone who had contact with me that summer._

"Good god, that's a lot of people."

_Some are even dead. Think about what happens then!_

A shot of cold water dropped down Dipper's spine.

"...what happens then?"

_You get a permanent house guest._

Dipper could feel himself turning green in the dark.

"...we need to find the other half."

_Look, I know this isn't the best for you,_ Bill began. _It ain't the best for me, but let's together make the best of it._

"I don't trust you."

_...I get that. Pine Tree, I'll-_

"Dipper."

_What?_

"My name," Dipper growled. "Use it."

_...okay...Dipper..._ Bill nodded. _I'll be honest with you, there's very little I like less than skipping around in someone's skull for however many years we have together. If I could get you to aerate your skull, then I'm gone and you're dead. Win-win!_

"Bill..."

_Okay, win for me, then. But I know where you're going and you're right. I have to keep you happy and healthy, else I lose my meal ticket. It's worse than that, Dipper._ Bill hesitated slightly. _Because you went and got yourself cleansed in that damned river, I can't even escape through other bits of you, which might be fun if you had a girlfriend. But you don't. At least...how about Pacifica?_

"You leave her alone!"

_Cool your jets, Pine Tree,_ Bill chuckled. _I TOLD you, I can't get out anywhere but a hole in your head. I'm literally trapped from your neck up and it ain't pretty._

Dipper sniffed. He couldn't let this pan dimensional maniac anywhere near Pacifica again. Even if she was the one with the other part! No. Bill could...Dipper shook his head.

"You already said you could influence me," Dipper tried to think. "In the fight...I was so enraged that I don't even remember what I did. Well, not fully."

_That's a good thing, I think. We both went kind bonkers on his face. Did he die?_

"...you don't know?"

_Outside of Gravity Falls, I'm pretty weak. Even to the point where I really didn't influence you to fuck that guy up,_ Bill shrugged. _I kinda pushed you over the edge, true, but you wanted to eat him alive anyway._

A quiet descended between them before Dipper spoke again.

"No, he didn't die."

_Too bad._

"Yeah."

A low chuckle emenated from the circle.

_There's real hatred there, Dipper. Didn't think you had it in you. What'd this guy do?_

"You can't read that from my mind?"

_I'm a part of your mind,_ Bill shrugged again. _I can't read it. It'd be like you trying to lick your own elbow. I ain't happening. So what'd this fuckhole do that was so horrible?_

Dipper shook his head. He'd spent way too much time in that head space. In his own head space. Pacifica had been right. He needed out of there. To not think about it. To try to distance himself from the thoughts that made him almost kill a man...

"Bill-" Dipper blew out a breath through his nose. "My hand is killing me and I need sleep. I'll set you out of the circle, if you don't interrupt my sleep, okay?"

Dipper leaned over before an answer came and smudged out the nearest edge of the circles. There was a slight pop as the air pressure equalized and Bill solidified slightly.

_Come on, man,_ Bill groused. _Tell me what he did and I'll back off until I need to tell you something, okay?_

Dipper tiredly examined the translucent demon, only to find true curiosity the only thing apparent there. Dipper settled back onto the bed, rolled over, and brought the blanket up to his neck.

_Dipper?_

Dipper closed his eyes, but opened them as he stared at nothing.

"He raped Mabel."


	5. Chapter 5

Rise  
A Gravity Falls Fanfic  
By  
Joshua Trujillo

Part 5

True to his word, Bill stayed quiet. Dipper dreamed his regular dreams, the simple nightmares that had plagued him from even before Weirdmaggedon. Gravity Falls had just put new antagonists in there. Animals eating his face. Gnomes punching his junk, then running away and laughing. Sometimes, he would see his own hands on a certain face, ripping away from the skull to anime amounts of blood. You know, the usual...

His waking hours had fallen back to routine, something he sorely missed. Helping in the shop, spending hours in the day at rehab, though even the therapist had told him that his hand was getting better much quicker than they though. He wondered to himself if Bill were helping him out there, but never found the courage to ask. Sometimes, ignorance is indeed bliss.

The physical therapist thought that Dipper might only need their help for another two or three weeks instead of the nine more that had been scheduled. Doctor Bill, on the other hand, could not be thusly modified. Dipper hadn't minded that though. The man knew his stuff and he was easy to talk to.

After, he had taken to getting caffeine at Starbun's. Spending time with Pacifica, or Candy, or both. Whoever was in the shop. He enjoyed his time with Candy because she didn't care and would talk about anything. He relished his time with Pacifica because...well...he felt a deep, abiding attraction to her. After their shopping trip, he had wondered if it were mutual and realized, sometimes, ignorance is not bliss.

Dipper had picked up his books from the high school and decided to walk around the building, getting his bearings. The building wasn't large, but there were non-Euclidean twists and turns. Of course, for some place like Gravity Falls, what else had he really expected? On the plus side, that meant there were about four hundred bathrooms. On the minus side, his locker had been nearly impossible to find.

Dipper scratched his head, but started as a ghost floated from one side of the hall to the other, right in front of him. He looked on the map again. Math rooms?

"We keep trying to get him to leave," the janitor said as he squeezed out his mop nearby. "But he likes giving the kids answers to the math tests."

"Is he a student?"

The janitor shrugged.

"Might have been," he admitted. "Oh, don't bring Cheetos to the building. They're forbidden."

Dipper looked back up from his map at this and turned to ask the man about it, but he'd slipped sideways to the library and was gone.

Dipper found his way back out again and went on to his therapy session. Mind and body. Always work on the mind and body.

He skipped his caffeine break that afternoon. Later, after she'd gotten off work, he would be picking up Candy for a date that he'd promised her. He walked the dusty path home, stepping out of the way for lumber trucks, hauling large pine logs to and from...somewhere. They never seemed to stop and, as soon as they went out of sight, the noise from them completely stopped.

Really, he would have preferred to be taking Pacifica out on a date, but a promise is a promise. He knew the value of those things. Dipper felt that his time with Pacifica had begun to mean something. They were both survivors. That meant something too. Candy might have wanted to jump his bones, but his mind continued to float back to their failed attempt so many years ago. His guilt assuaged anything his hormones could throw at him.

He climbed the stairs to the attic and lay down on his bed. He stretched out and watched the dust motes as they floated around the rafters. He could hear Grunkle Stan below, hawking his wares. Soos could, and did, do an excellent job at that, but there was something about it for the old man. He wouldn't be Stan if he didn't try to sell third hand kitsch to tourist rubes. Dipper chuckled, sat up and looked at the clock. He had just enough time. He got up and got in the shower.

***

Dipper looked out the front windshield of his car at the garish sign. This business had come in during the last year, when he had been in Tibet. Or, maybe, Burma. He wasn't quite sure about the timeline in there. Things got hazy. The sign flashed wide swathes of neon into the humid, Oregon night. Blues and reds and oranges.

"Boom Burger?"

"Let's hope that's not what it does later!"

Dipper snorted and shot a glance at the tiny girl in the seat next to him. Candy snorted in laughter and wiggled. Her shiny, black hair sat in a high pony tail on her head. He started when he had first seen it, as it reminded him of how Pacifica wore her hair at times, even now. He wondered if there was a little rivalry going on, but shuttered that thought. Between them, there might be, but he would treat them equally. At least, he would try.

He had to admit, the green shirt tucked into that short jean skirt struck chords in him Dipper didn't realize he had for Candy. Her legs, as the saying goes, went all the way up. He also couldn't help but notice how she liked to shift them this way and that...sliding them along each other...

...he would have to say something to her about the teasing...

...maybe...

They parked and Dipper ordered for them. Burgers. Fries. Cokes. A chocolate milkshake for himself and a Pitt fizzy for Candy. Apparently, someone had made Pitt ice cream. Peach flavored, which wasn't a terribly novel idea, as far as tastes go, but making it out of Pitt cola seemed weird. Boom took the ice cream and made a float with Pitt cola. Kind of a Pitt inception? Probably tasted good, but he couldn't bring himself to ask for a taste.

...Candy might get the wrong idea, after all...

Their own personal board flashed outside his driver side window. Their order was correct? Yes. It didn't seem like enough money, but Candy pointed out that they were in 'happy hour'. The drinks and desserts were half priced.

Their order soon came out in the hands of a girl their age, looking rather haggard, but still smiling. Dipper left her a tip. She left him with a smile and a wink. A tiny Asian growl lit up next to him and Dipper quickly rolled up the window. Candy chuckled and poked him in the ribs as she took her meal. Happy silence settled over them as they dug in.

"Ya know," she said into her burger. "The last time I ate a meal in a car, there were demons running around trying to eat me."

"Yeah..."

Dipper stared into his Coke.

"You don't talk about that time very much, do you?"

"Not really," Dipper said. "I mean, I talk about it with my shrink, so I feel like I'm talking about it all the time, but I guess I don't with anyone else. I...there were bad times in there."

Candy watched him, but said nothing. He glanced at her and smiled.

"He keeps telling me that it's good to let stuff out," he said. "But there were things during those couples days that I'd just as soon forget."

"Yeah," she nodded. "I guess I talk about that time just to piss off the locals. And my folks. They're of the burying-their-heads-in-the-sand variety."

"You know that a lot of people can't-" Dipper shook his head. "A lot of them don't know how to handle it."

"I know," she sighed and ate her fries. "The whole never happened attitude just pisses me the fuck off."

Dipper stuffed his burger wrapper in the fry box as he shook his head.

"I gotta ask...the swearing..."

"What about it?"

"Does everyone do it now?"

"Sometimes, it's the most succinct, most appropriate way to express yourself," Candy shrugged.

"...really?"

"Fuck yeah!"

Both of them burst out in laughter.

"You're not a prude about it-"

"No!" Dipper shook his head. "I just..."

She reached out and placed a hand on his arm.

"Dipper, we're not far from being legal adults," Candy said. "It's okay for us to express ourselves the way we want."

She patted his arm and he nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "I guess Mabel kinda rubs off on me."

"I hope not!" Candy barked a laugh. "That's incestuous! Come on!"

Dipper stopped. The straw resting on his lips.

"I am _so_ glad I didn't drink," he shook his head. "Are you done?!"

"With _this_ meal," Candy gave him a saucy wink as he gathered the trash.

Dipper chuckled to himself and realized that the whole leg thing had to be involuntary. Like now. She was doing it now. Damn, they looked smooth-

Dipper shook his head as a low chuckle came from Candy as she put her seatbelt on. He started the car.

...okay...maybe she did know what she was doing...

***

Candy's mother worked long hours at night at Gravity Falls Regional Hospital. A nurse. Her father only came home every other weekend from his professorship in Corvalis. Good money from both, but they rarely saw each other. They saw Candy even less. Apparently, it had been that way for some time. One of the things that she and Pacifica had bonded over.

Candy sat down next to Dipper on her floor, covered as it was with pillows, and picked up the game controller. Multiplayer games. Shooter games. A ton of zombie killing games. Dipper was a little afraid to see what kind of games she had on her iPhone. Never a game that she had to play alone. Not even for a mission. Dipper hated himself for noticing it.

They talked. They talked about school. They talked about their classes, of which they only had a couple together. Pacifica shared a couple with Candy, but not many either. Grenda would be back about a month in and had gotten permission to do her first month online, since she was in Europe at the prince's palace.

Candy reached over and pulled her phone to her. She hit a couple things and pulled up pictures.

"Grenda," she said as she passed the phone to him. "What she looks like now."

Dipper had been prepared to say something kind. They'd all changed, but Grenda, well, he was prepared to say something nice. He hadn't been prepared for what he saw.

Grenda...had muscles. And her muscles had muscles. And good god, her arms were huge! She'd gotten a haircut some time before the photo. Short, feathered in the back. It looked really good on her. Honestly, cute. She'd lost whatever fat she had. Her face lay strong in the picture, which showed her bench pressing the prince...her boyfriend of many years now.

"Fiancé, now," Candy said.

"...what does her shirt say?"

"Come with me, if you want to LIFT!"

Dipper snorted as he handed the phone back to her. Candy nodded as she turned off the phone.

"Everyone's changed, Dipper."

"I have to admit," he said. "Grenda's really done herself proud. She looks great. I hope she's happy."

"Oh yeah," Candy leaned into him as they started the game again. "Once she got into lifting and body building, she found she really liked it. And then she loved the results and it just kinda snowballed from there."

She reached under her, pulled his arm around her and set his hand once again on his controller. He figured that he couldn't do this with anyone else, Candy being as small as she was. It was...kinda neat...

A couple hours passed. More conversation. More cuddling. Dipper didn't mind any of it. Even when Candy spent a good ten minutes running her hands through his hair. She stuffed his hat back on his head from her position on the bed behind him. She leaned close and set her lips near his ear.

"Boyo," she said softly. "I think it's time for you to head home...before I do something to make you stay."

Dipper blushed as the thoughts poured in hot and heavy. She sat up, cleared his throat, and nodded with a gulp. She followed him out to his car and Dipper got the distinct impression of a cat wondering if she should pounce...or wait until later.

He stopped at his car and took a deep breath of the Oregon night. It lay dark, even in this cul-du-sac. Crickets chirped as the heat came off the pavement. He knew the forests near the shack would be almost cold. The moisture would make for good growing for the trees, the forest, and everything in it, as old as the thing was. Old.

A thought just occurred to him. The forest. The forest was alive. What if-

Dipper started as Candy tapped his forehead.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"Huh?" he focused on her and shyly smiled. "Sorry, a thought just occurred to me that I need to work out."

"Must've been heavy. You were gone there for a couple seconds," she smirked at him. "Tell me when you work it out?"

Dipper blushed again and nodded. He backed against his car door and blushed harder as she pressed herself against him gently. She looked up at him, a gentle smile on her face.

"I had a great time, Dipper," she said softly. "...and...since Pacifica hasn't done it yet-"

She reached up and cupped his face forcefully as she brought her lips to his. Dipper's first thoughts were of the incredible softness that assaulted his face. It hadn't been anything like what he'd imagined, the slight taste of peach and peppermint, mingled with the soft fire he thought he could feel from her lips. Her fingers curled and grabbed at his hair, pulling him down further toward her. Finally, she relented, both of them panting for breath, shaking slightly as their hormones raged against the dying of the night.

A deadly smile set on her lips as she licked them and bit her lower lip. She pushed him back against the car and stepped back with a low, lusty chuckle.

"Now go," Candy said as she swayed slightly, the heat streaming from her. "And try to get some sleep with that."

She laughed brightly, turned, and swaggered back to the door, making sure that Dipper noticed her legs...again...

"Like I could miss them..." he breathed to himself.

Dipper got in his car and nearly hit her mailbox, but took a breath and began down the road.

_Yeah,_ a familiar voice said in his head. _Sleep ain't exactly the first thing we'll do!_

Dipper jerked the car to a halt, swerved to the side of the road, and stopped. He put it in park and looked up into the rear view mirror. Bill gave him a saucy wink in return.

"What did I-!"

_I know. But I couldn't help myself,_ Bill chuckled. _Besides, news. I looked in that tiny Asian sex machine. I'm not in there. You oughta bang her silly, you know?_

"No I don't know!" Dipper furiously blushed. "And shut up about her!"

Bill seemed to consider something.

_Dipper..._ he said cautiously. _You're...not a virgin, are you?_

"Hey, Mabel taught me that virginity is a social construct-"

_Dipper, sex forms an experiential basis necessary for getting me out of your head!_

"I..." Dipper stopped. "Sex isn't relevant!"

_The fuck it's not!_ Bill spat. _Dipper...how do you think I'm going to get back together with my other self, if we find it?!_

Ice water drained down his spine as Dipper began to think of scenarios.

"I thought you said you were trapped in my head," he said quietly. "That you couldn't go out through...other means..."

_**I** can't, Pine Tree!_ Bill growled. _...doesn't mean the **other half** can't!_

Both of them sat quietly, staring at one another. Dipper slowly shook his head.

"...you've gotta be fucking kidding me!"

Bill gasped, then chortled in laughter.

_You **can** swear!_


	6. Chapter 6

Rise  
A Gravity Falls Fanfic  
By  
Joshua Trujillo

Part 6

Dipper rubbed his eyes and set his history text down. It read, well, like a high school history text. It left out many of the important bits of history in favor of what could be digested by the masses. Most of the kids in Gravity Falls would never be part of those masses, but they didn't need to know that. His computer read a few minutes after midnight. Ford said he would check in when he arrived in Ohio. His flight had already arrived in Columbus and the plan had been to grab a rental car and head to Point Pleasant from there. That had been several hours ago. Dipper didn't know how long it took to get from one destination to the other, though the map said less than three hours. Dipper took another sip of his water and sat up as his Skype connection came alive. He accepted and smiled warmly as his Grunkle Ford came into view.

"Ah, Dipper my boy!" he smiled. "Good to see you. Let me tell you that traffic in Ohio is heavy, but at least they're good drivers. Felt like it took me forever to get here, but luckily, the hotel was easy to find."

"So, you're in Ohio?"

"Yes," Ford said. "Just across the river. In fact-"

Ford picked up the little netbook and Dipper could see he was pointing it out the window. Dipper could make out something shiny in the distance, lights blinking on the top.

"The new Silver Bridge," Ford set the netbook down again. "Well, it's not called that, especially by the locals, but on the other side is Point Pleasant. I'm sorry I didn't call before now, but dinner called after such a long trip."

"It's okay, Grunkle Ford," Dipper smiled and rubbed his eyes. "What'd you find out in Ireland?"

"Oh! It was very fruitful!" he said. "I now firmly believe that the Mothman is not only a tolpa, but a very old one. Older than the Mothman story. Old country critters are the toughest because they know how to live and hide amongst humans. And I think this one's been doing it for centuries."

He rubbed his graying hair and blew out a happy sigh. Dipper could tell when his grunkle was worn out, but happy. He reached off screen and pulled out an ice cream cone. The one that's kinda squared off on top and covered in nuts and chocolate, a little nugget of chocolate at the bottom of the cone...Dipper knew what it was, but couldn't remember the name.

"I got a taste for these in Ireland," he unwrapped it and nibbled. "Actually when I had a layover in England. They call them Cornetto's there. Probably horrible for me, but they're addictive."

"Grunkle Ford," Dipper sighed before he began again. "Don't take a bite yet. Bill's back."

"What?!"

"It's-" Dipper pinched his nose. "No. I was going to say it's okay, but it's not okay. It's all kinds of not okay, but it's something that I have to deal with now. He's trapped in my head."

Dipper couldn't look at the screen as he relayed the rest of the information. Ford stayed quiet and thoughtful during the whole thing, obviously processing it as well.

"What you've told me concerns me, Dipper," Ford said quietly. "But...I really think this whole situation was almost inevitable. Bill is...bad. Bill could be classed as a greater demon or even a demon lord, since he can reorder matter. Regardless of that, there are things that even he can't get around and the cleansing that we both took in Nepal was one of them. We bought you some serious time."

"What if he's right, and we can't find the other half of him?"

"Like calls to like, Dipper," Ford grinned. "You should remember that from our time in Burma. One reason that he might have come out to you in Gravity Falls is that the other half is there. In the town. It could be in anyone though.

"I don't want to make out with everyone, Grunkle Ford."

"Thankfully, you won't have to!" Ford chuckled. "Bill should be able to sense it, even in his diminished state. I should be home at the end of next week."

"Everything else is going pretty well, all things considered."

"Dipper, I don't mean to be a killjoy," Ford grimaced a little. "But this burgeoning relationship with the Northwest girl may be bad for your parole. I'm not going to tell you not to, but be careful."

"I will."

The screen went dark and Dipper sat back in his chair. Now what the hell did _that_ mean?

***

The days dragged past intermittably slow. Dipper supposed that's what happened when life became interesting. He looked down at the book on his iPod. Terry Pratchett's 'Interesting Times'. He felt like Rincewind at times. He hefted his backpack, full as it was with Pacifica's school books. He picked them up earlier in the day as a favor. She had been working all the time, so his free time could benefit her. Of course he hadn't minded.

He looked up main stairway inside the house. Mansion. Whatever. Pacifica stopped at the landing as she stopped chatting in her phone. She ended her call and sighed heavily.

"Come on up."

"The last time I was in here, it didn't end well for either of us," Dipper said.

She barked a laugh.

"Yeah," she said. "One of us became a hero and the other...a leper."

"I don't remember you licking any armadillos."

"Shut up, you doof."

He chuckled as he made his way up the grand staircase. Part of the main foyer had been filled by a giant metal creation. It reminded Dipper of the huge robot they'd built at Weirdmageddon, but then, from what Pacifica had told him, McGuckett was always in the middle of building something. Dipper followed Pacifica back down the hall to her room, trying his damnedest not to watch her walk. The way her jeans hugged her butt...Dipper shook his head as she opened the door. She shot him a look and he shook his head again. Dipper repeated what Ford had told him.

"Do you know what he means?"

"Yeah," Pacifica sighed again as she closed the door. "I don't have a good rep, you know? From my parents. It probably wouldn't look good hanging out with me."

Dipper set down his backpack and glanced around the room. Pacifica's room had been decorated as one might expect from a wealthy princess. There was the white, the light greens, the ever-present pink. But here and there, the shadows of maturity had slid in. Of course, McGuckett had kept her room exactly as she'd left it all those years ago. In many ways, the old man was far more perceptive than those around him. He knew she would be back.

"That's stupid," Dipper huffed angrily. "Besides, I have as much of a rep as you do."

"I wish," she said with a smirk as they sat on her sofa. "With the exception of you and Candy, everyone walks on egg shells around me. Even McGuckett. He thinks I'll whip out an army of lawyers from somewhere and force him to live in the dog house."

Dipper quiet ruminated that, considering the size and amenities the dog house had, it might be a viable option. He didn't express that out loud though. Dipper shook his head angrily.

"I don't care," he growled. "You've done so much to change, I'm not going to let people judge you by the sins of your family."

"You don't have a choice, Dipper."

He quieted, then realized something.

"Maybe I don't..." he began. "But...you do."

"Huh?"

He turned to her, the full force of his attention on her.

"Don't listen to them!" Dipper said, his eyes full of flame. "Listen to me. When they get too bad or obnoxious or stupid, you come to me."

Pacifica blinked, not having seen this side of Dipper since Weirdmageddon. She felt her blush rising slightly.

"And what are you gonna do," she said with a quivering smirk. "Kiss it and make it all better?"

Dipper visibly swallowed, but maintained his eye contact.

"If that's what you want."

Pacifica felt her smirk fade in the face of this...face. This...boy! This almost man who she so derided in the past. She could see herself coming to him, sharing her problems...sharing herself...she closed her mouth as she felt the blood crawl up her chest and into her face. She felt her breath begin to race as she saw the blush begin to form on Dipper's face as well. She blew out a breath, broke eye contact, and settled back into her seat.

"There's some voices you can't quiet, Dipper."

"You're right," he said quietly. "Kisses don't work on those."

A huge grin burst on her face.

"They might," she said quietly.

Dipper heard her anyway.

"On those," he said with a chuckle. "Hugs work better."

Her smile softened. She reached over and gave his hand a squeeze, then got up. As she walked to the window, she heard him rubbing his face and that gave her a slight grin. It felt good to know that she had that effect on him, as petty as that was. She walked slowly, trying to mollify her own blush. She blew out another breath as she pushed back the curtains. The huge window overlooked the front of the house, Dipper's car sat down there.

It wasn't a great car, or a fast car, or an expensive car. Perhaps the best thing about it was that it was *his* car. Sure, Pacifica had a better one...but she liked going in his car. Because it was his.

"People still come and go and make sure the grounds are taken care of," she said softly. "McGuckett pays for it all."

She watched him in the reflection of the window. He simply sat there. She smirked. He was probably staring at her butt. Pacifica realized that she was probably okay with that. The lights of Gravity Falls twinkled in the distance, in the lull of the summer. The nights, so many years ago, when she'd met him and his sister...

"Everything I was, and still am, really, is still wrapped up in what my parents saw in me," Pacifica began, not even thinking about where her words came from. "For my mother, I was a boutique item. To be perfected and displayed. Like some goddamned china doll."

Pacifica drew her arms around her. The cold winds of memory made her feel raw, like too much time near the sea.

"My father saw me as a means to an end."

"The bell?"

Pacifica snorted in derision.

"It was to tame me, Dipper," she continued. "So that, eventually, I would make a good wife for some power executive. Obedient. Meek. Subservient. But capable enough to take over any man's business."

"Isn't that a paradox?" Dipper asked.

"You'd think so," she admitted. "Betty Crocker in the kitchen, Bill Gates in the boardroom, and a whore in the bedroom...and I can't even cook..."

Dipper chuckled to himself and scratched his chin.

"Well...with the emancipation," he began. "It looks like you can handle yourself in the boardroom."

Pacifica laughed as she turned back toward him. She set a jaunty hand at her hip.

"You'll have to date me more to find out about the third one," she smiled slyly and winked at him.

Dipper blushed harder. She laughed and clapped her hands together. Dipper set a hand at the back of his head and chuckled as well. Pacifica took a deep breath and stretched her arms above her head. It was a yoga move that Candy had taught her. It was supposed to be a move to quickly set her back in order. From the sudden reemergence of the blush on Dipper, it wasn't the only thing that got in order. She chuckled, set her hands in her back pocket and slowly made her way back to the couch.

"You know, you're the first guy I've ever felt comfortable with," she said as she took her hair out of her ponytail. "Oh sure, dad introduced me to lots of prospective boys. All were wealthy, most were pretty. More than most were stupid and vain. I couldn't stand a one. But you..."

She stood in front of him, looking down at him, but not looking down on him. Dipper couldn't move. He didn't want to. She'd opened up to him like no other girl had ever done before and she was right. He felt totally comfortable with her. It felt amazing...and scary...

In a fluid motion that reminded Dipper of a cat, Pacifica curled down onto his lap and wrapped her arms around his head and shoulders. Startled by the sudden contact, Dipper slowly set his arms around her in return. He found himself shocked at how small she was. This personality, this lady, who seemed to fill the room and kick ass and take names...she felt small in his arms.

"With you," she said softly next to his ear. "I feel comfortable. I feel safe. I _want_ to talk to you."

She began to stroke the back of his head. Dipper felt that, if he could purr, he would.

"I want to tell you my secrets because I know you'll never use them against me," she held him tighter. "You're not vain. You're poor, at least by Northwest standards-"

"Hey!"

Pacifica chuckled as she released him slightly. She pulled back out a little to face him. A gentle smile, warm, inviting and bare, caressed her face.

"But one thing you are, Dipper Pines..." she said softly. "You're beautiful."

She slipped her hand up and pulled his hat off. She ran her fingers through his hair and he shivered. Pacifica smiled as she bit her lower lip. She paused, then dipped her head slightly. She closed her eyes as he closed his and-

_"I like big BUTTS and I CANNOT lie! You other brothers can DENY-"_

Just a fraction apart, both of them opened their eyes as the song burst forth from Dipper's phone. He closed his eyes and sighed as she leaned back, confused.

"...it's Mabel..."

Pacifica, flustered, quickly got off his lap and nodded.

"Better..." she ran a hand through her hair. "Better answer it then. I'll-uh...I'll get us something to drink."

Dipper nodded as he looked down at the phone, cursing it! CURSING! But not cursing.

"Great timing, sis," he growled as he tapped the icon.

Mabel popped on the screen. Her new haircut threw Dipper off a bit. After the attack, one of the shrinks suggested that she change her look as a coping mechanism. The whole new you, thing. Dipper thought it was a stupid idea, but Mabel worked with it. Their parents hadn't liked the results either, but they couldn't say anything.

She'd shaved the sides of her head and the rest of her hair flopped over. She still wore the sweaters, but she opted for darker colors. Blacks and grays. Sometimes reds. Blood reds. Dipper hadn't wanted to think about it. She'd stopped wearing her skirts too. Not that Dipper thought the leather pants were a better option, but again, he knew it was her say, not his.

As long as she was happy, he didn't care what she did. He just wondered if she were happy...

"Hey brobro!" she said. "What's going on? You look flustered."

Dipper gave her a half smirk and chuckled.

"Yeah. A bit. How're you doing?"

"Okay," Mabel shrugged. "Not great. Having nightmares still."

"That's-" Dipper began, but something ticked at his thoughts. "...what kinds of nightmares?"

Mabel shrugged.

"Mostly about the attack," she said. "And Bill. Bill attacking me. Bill-"

She took a deep breath and shuddered.

"Hey," Dipper said. "It's okay. Those are just nightmares."

Mabel nodded and blew out her breath, her panic attack fading before his eyes.

"Bill made nightmares real, Dipper," she said. "But he's gone. We killed him, didn't we?"

"Yeah, sis," he hated lying to her. "He's gone. Besides, if he were back, you'd be in a much better place than I am."

"Yeah, Gravity Falls is not a safe place," she nodded. "But then, neither is here. I think I prefer the gnomes over Wilson..."

Dipper tried to steer his sister to more mundane topics, such as her upcoming school year...then realized that this would be the first one ever that they'd have to spend apart. He rounded the corner, conversationally, to her new shrink. A nice woman who helped most of her, but really fell out of her depth when it came to things about Gravity Falls. Pacifica returned with a pair of large glasses filled with something cold. Cola? Something. He accepted it as she pulled a small table toward the sofa and set her glass on the metal top. She snuggled down next to Dipper and leaned over to look at the phone.

"Hey Mabel," she smiled warmly. "Great lip color! It suits you. What is it?"

Mabel smiled brightly.

"It's called Blood of the Martyrs," Mabel reached off screen and pulled a little tube forward. "It's from Maybelline's Goth line."

"I can't wear reds," Pacifica nodded. "Washes out my face. Makes me look whiter than I am."

"Well, your hair also-" Mabel stopped and looked between them as Dipper put his drink down. "Wait a minute...Dipper is with you?!"

Dipper looked back to Pacifica, who glanced to him, shrugged and nodded.

"I didn't _think_ it looked like the shack!"

A massive grin burst on Mabel's face.

"Dipper Pines," Mabel pointed at he screen. "Are you _gettin'_ some?!"

Pacifica grabbed Dipper's hand and pulled the phone closer to her face.

"No, he's not!" she growled, but with a grin. "And it's _because_ his phone rang, Mabel Pines!"

"Oh god, here it comes," Dipper cringed.

An ear splitting keening came out of the phone as Mabel squee'd in full force. Pacifica couldn't watch the phone as the picture flipped this way and that as Mabel rolled around like an idiot.

"My ears!" Pacifica said as she stuck a finger in.

"Jesus Christ, Mabel! Stop that!"

Giggles and full on laughter came to their ears as she came back on the screen. Her laughter felt infectious and both Pacifica and Dipper found themselves laughing as well. It felt good. It felt like things hadn't happened. As Mabel subsided, she looked across the room.

"Damn," she sighed. "Gotta go, broham."

"It's good to see you again, Mabel," Pacifica said with a warm smile.

"Pacifica," Mabel tried to look serious. "Take care of Dipper. He's grown, but he's still a dork and a half."

She stopped for a beat.

"And don't steal his hats!"

Dipper started, then looked to Pacifica, who waggled her eyebrows at him as she sipped her drink. His hat looked fabulous on her, as he suspected it probably would. Pacifica stuck her tongue out at Mabel.

"Love you, Mabel," Dipper said.

"Love you too."

The phone grew dark after they'd hung up. Quiet slid between them, but not an awkward quiet. A comfortable quiet filled with warmth and...affection. 

"So..." Pacifica said softly.

Dipper turned to her.

"You want your hat back?"


	7. Chapter 7

Rise  
A Gravity Falls Fanfic  
By  
Joshua Trujillo

School was...school. Dipper supposed that each school had its own quirks and weirdness, though most didn't have a ghost that floated through math classes telling people the answers. Or a zombie chasing people around the track. Or other high strangeness.

Dipper closed the door on his locker and spun the combination on the lock. It smelled like a high school. That might sound strange, but high schools smelled different than middle schools and different from elementary schools. Most had the same Spartan colors, highlighted by the garish posters on the walls. Half put up by students and organizations, the other half as tragic warnings against doing things that most teens do anyway. Blah, brown tile. Normal.

Dipper stopped in the hallway as shouts of pained anger came from his left. A small demon thing ran around on the ceiling, flinging Cheetos at random people, hitting some of the more unfortunate ones in the eye. Then he would giggle and run off just to do it again. He turned and ran right at Dipper. Dipper raised his hat slightly and just looked at it.

The demon stopped and raised a Cheeto, but didn't throw it. Something crossed the gnarled, hideous face as it warred against tossing the crunchy snack versus not. If Dipper had to hazard a guess, the little munchie tosser recognized the elder behind Dipper's eyes. Not that he would ever make that public. The demon gave a hiss, turned and scuttled back down the hallway as fast as he could.

"Wow," a voice said from behind Dipper. "I have _never_ seen Jeffrey do that to anyone. Let alone a new person."

Dipper turned to the lanky kid in the track suit. A mop of thick, jet black hair shot out at all angles from beneath a pair of glasses set on his head. Sky blue eyes smiled down at Dipper. He was a couple inches taller than Dipper and nothing but skin and bones.

"The name's Simon," he said as Dipper shook his hand.

"The trick is to not be scared of the ones like him," Dipper nodded. "Especially the little ones. They're just bullies."

"Of course _you're_ not scared," another kid by the nearby stairwell said. "You're Dipper _muthafuckin'_ Pines!"

He pushed himself off the railing as he stuck a suspiciously empty looking bag of Cheetos in his jacket pocket. He reminded Dipper of Soos, or rather, how Soos might've looked when he was Dipper's age. Though, Dipper doubted that Soos had ever shaved the sides of his head. The boy's dark hair fell in a mass to one side of his head, the skin there a couple shades lighter than the rest of him. He stuck out his hand.

"Bob Estrellas," he said as they shook hands. "Goodtameetcha!"

"Thought you were on a diet, Bob," Simon poked at the pocket containing the offending package.

"I was," Bob shrugged. "I need a new one. Oh, by the way, is your sister here?"

Dipper tried to ignore the eyebrows being waggled at him and just chuckled.

"Nah, just me."

Bob broke into a huge grin and snapped his fingers dramatically. Dipper couldn't help but laugh...until someone bumped him hard from behind. Bob steadied him, the instant hatred burning in his face. Dipper looked back. Two huge men, boys? Men. Sacks of meat. Both of them muscled through the kids standing in the hall. At least the ones that didn't clear a path in the first place. Simon stepped aside and rubbed his nose. He leaned over and whispered something to Bob, who snorted and shook his head.

A good looking, blonde kid came right after them. Someone Dipper hated immediately. He reminded Dipper of why he was in Gravity Falls in the first place. He was the kind of person that got away with everything. Oh, he's such a nice boy...Dipper looked back to Bob and instantly calmed. Bob had actually turned darker with his anger. Bob caught Dipper looking and blew out a breath. He shook his head, but visibly calmed.

"Derrick Bronner," Simon said softly. "He's like, an MMA fighter or something. Cage fighter? Something like that. No one messes with him."

"Head dick," Bob growled. "Is what he is."

The nearest meathead snapped back around and took a step toward Bob.

"What'd you say?"

Simon put a hand on Bob's shoulder.

"You heard me, Sasquatch!"

Dipper noticed Bob's hand as it slipped into his other pocket, but Derrick stepped up and patted the huge shoulder. Up close, Derrick indeed looked packed full of muscle. But muscles like Dipper imagined he might have, had he continued on with Grunkle Ford. Muscles used to tight work and long hours. Muscles that meant something.

"Now, now," Derrick pulled his friend back. "No blood in the halls on the first day, Pat. Besides, the fat boy isn't worth it."

Simon blew out a breath and Bob grinned a nasty grin. Derrick half turned, then spotted Dipper's ubiquitous hat. He double taked.

"But you..." Derrick gave a winning grin. "You're Dipper Pines! I know you! We all do."

Dipper held up his hands and just shook his head.

"Here's a quick hint," Derrick continued. "Maybe you should hang out with people of better caliber."

"What is this?" Bob blurted. "Harry Potter?"

"Oo!" Simon clapped his hands. "Can I be Hermione?! I look ever so good in a skirt!"

"It's true," Bob snorted. "He does."

"Look, Derrick, I'm here to get grades and keep my head down, okay?" Dipper tried to explain. "High school is tough enough without dick waving contests."

"It isn't if you're the biggest dick."

A put-upon look cascaded over Derrick's face as he turned to the second of his two meatheads.

"Roger," he began. "What did I tell you about opening your mouth?"

"Not to?"

"Not to," Derrick turned back to Dipper. "See you around, Dipper Pines. I'll be keeping my eye on you..."

***

The rest of the day ran, thankfully, more or less as he expected. Gym had been way easier than he remembered, but Dipper supposed that running around in the mountains and jungles half a world away had gotten him into better shape. He wasn't quite sure what that shape was, but it was better.

Math class came around and the ghost, Chester, came floating in. But just like the hall demon Jeffrey, it stopped when it got near Dipper, turned and fled from the room. He would have to ask a certain someone about that when he had the chance. As it was, he just shrugged and laughed nervously. It was never good to draw that kind of attention to yourself on the first day.

Thankfully, lunch came soon enough and he gave silent thanks that both Candy and Pacifica shared it with him. He sat next to Pacifica at the table, who still wore the hat she stole from him nights previous. She smiled winningly at him, took off his hat and ruffled his hair. She stuffed the hat back on his head and stuck her tongue out at Candy, who only raised an eyebrow in return.

Candy knew Bob. Candy knew most people in the school. Or, at least, most boys. Bob and Simon sat with them. The big dork table, as it were. As it was, he didn't want to think about how much Candy knew the boys, but she seemed to discriminate, at least. A tall, red headed boy sat at the table next to Candy, across from Dipper. He started and jumped up, launching his hand across the table at Dipper.

"Dipper Pines!" he smiled broadly. "Mason Dixon-"

"Yes," Candy sighed. "That's his actual name."

"Damned glad to meet you, son!"

"Mason," Pacifica rolled her eyes at him. "Please don't scare my boyfriend."

" _Your_ boyfriend?" Candy snorted. "We haven't exactly discussed this, ya know?"

Pacifica ignored her and turned to Dipper, who massaged some life back into his hand.

"Mason is one of the captains of the football team," she said. "Huge dork-"

"Hey!"

"-but a nice guy," Pacifica smirked at him as he dug into his burger. "Mason, be a dear and try not to recruit Dipper for any of your stupid plans this year, okay?"

"Plans?" Dipper asked.

"Yeah!" Mason grinned widely. "First one-"

Pacifica cleared her throat menacingly. Mason stopped talking and sat there, repressed energy bounding out of him. He reminded Dipper of an Irish Setter...a wry smirk settled on his face as Dipper felt a presence just behind him.

"If he were smart, Mr. Pines would come out for the wrestling team and be someone."

"Piss off, asshole," Pacifica growled without looking up from her tea.

Dipper could almost feel Derrick smirking down at her and held his own grin in knowing how deep the hole was Derrick dug.

"Or what?" he snorted. "You'll buy me out?"

"No," Pacifica turned to him. "I'll get up and kick you so hard in the nuts that your _dad_ will feel it."

"Ooo," Bob pursed his lips and said quietly. "Can I get some of that action?"

Simon elbowed him. Derrick backed off a step, grumbled something, cleared his throat and stomped off. Dipper blew out a breath and gave Pacifica a look.

"...would you have...really?" Simon asked.

"Not with these shoes on!"

The table laughed and the tension cleared. Dipper hated confrontation with other humans. Give him a demon, or damned big snake, or the end of the friggin' world. He could handle that, but a guy that hated him just for being him? That made no sense to Dipper. He started as Pacifica laid a hand softly on his. He shook his head at her inquisitive look and leaned to her as she leaned to him.

"You know that I still have to work during school, right?" she said quietly.

Dipper nodded.

"I have to keep my grades up too," he said. "Part of the probation. But we're in a couple classes, so we can study, at least-"

"Ya know," Simon popped the last of his food in his mouth. "You two suck at whispering."

"Yeah," Bob nodded sagely, "If something's important, you make the time."

"You are _such_ a nerd," Candy chuckled.

"Who's the nerd?" he waggled his eyebrows at Candy. "The one who quotes Star Trek, or the one who knows what it's from?"

"Ugh!" Candy rolled her eyes, but giggled slightly despite herself.

"Dipper," Simon said. "If you're looking for something interesting, why don't you come out for the cheer squad? We're separate from the football girls - thankfully...we do volleyball and some basketball..."

"I don't think I like the idea of your hands on my boyfriend either," Pacifica grinned.

"Hey, he might like it," Simon chuckled. "Besides, why don't you do it too. You'd look awesome-"

"Ugh!" Pacifica waved him off. "I want to be _less_ vapid, not more so!"

"It's because, Simon, she couldn't hack it."

Dipper turned at this new voice, a little like poisoned honey. Soothing in its own way, but still deadly. A tall, black girl stepped around Simon and set her hands on her hips. She had yellow eyes. Dipper knew that some health concerns caused a yellowing, but this...looked unnatural. Anime eyes? The girls lips curled into a dangerous smile directed at Pacifica. She growled, slammed her hands on the table and stood.

"Veronica Chase."

"Pacifica Northwest," Veronica acknowledged.

"It's not that I _can't_ put my legs behind my head," Pacifica folded her arms across her chest. "It's that I would much rather do that for Dipper than for the whole football team."

Dipper folded into himself as he turned beet red.

"Dipper...Pines?"

Veronica just seemed to notice him, or perhaps his hat, instead of her rival. Pacifica rolled her eyes. Dipper cleared his throat and glanced up to her. Great, now she looked interested. Dipper gave her a wane smile and began to stand. Pacifica set a firm hand on his shoulder, pinning him to the chair. Veronica set a hand on his other shoulder. She kneeded it lightly, causing a shiver to run through him. She had good hands. Pacifica must've felt it as well.

"He's got good muscles, Simon," Veronica purred. "We could really use him."

The innuendo wasn't lost on Dipper.

"Your hand, bitch," Pacifica growled. "Remove it or I'll do it for you."

Dipper felt Veronica's fingers slide across his shoulders, to play with the back of his neck below his hat. Again, he shivered involuntarily. Damn, but did she have good fingers. She gave a lusty chuckle as she moved off. An audible pat on his butt, as it were. 

Dipper gulped against the sudden feelings and tried to avoid Pacifica's gaze as she sat back down again.

"Well..." Bob huffed. "The year is starting out promising."

***

She'd looked sad. Sad? No...angry...no...something else. Disappointed? Pacifica had let Dipper drive that morning. She'd said little though on the way home, preferring to stare out the window. Her left hand though, had not left off touching some part of him since they'd started the short drive to the mansion.

The car slid into place in front of the mansion and he set it in park. He drew in a breath, but stopped as she turned to him. He knew the look now. He'd seen it on himself too often.

Pacifica was worried.

"...what Candy said at lunch..." she began softly. "It's...true. I'm not your girlfriend-"

"Pacifica-"

"No, Dipper!" she turned to him fully. "If you want Candy or, gods even Veronica...I won't-"

A sob caught in her throat and she lowered her head, wisps of her platinum blonde hair falling around her face. Dipper blew out his breath and smiled gently. For everything she was, Pacifica...needed someone. And for whatever reason, she'd chosen him. And for Dipper, it remained unexpected and completely wonderful. He could chose her too.

"I get why you're protective, Pacifica," he said softly. "Veronica is...she's...aggressive. To say the least."

Pacifica snorted and rubbed at her eyes.

"She's a whore."

"Pacifica-"

She jerked her head up. 

"No, I mean, she really _is_ a whore!" Pacifica blurted. "She has sex for money. Or, she had...I don't know if she does it anymore or not. At least Candy discriminates who she sleeps with."

Pacifica took a deep breath as she wound her hand into his.

"Besides," she said. "We're busy putting you back together. I don't want your heart broken."

"I don't think it was my heart she was aiming for," Dipper snorted.

Pacifica snorted a laugh, but more tears began to fall.

"I know, okay," she said. "But-"

She squeaked as Dipper pulled her halfway onto his seat and into a hug. He held her close.

"It's okay, Pacifica," he said quietly into her neck. "She's not my type. You are."

She returned the hug fiercely and Dipper could only smile. He started as she pulled him back out and set her lips on his.

He could feel the heat of her lips, the taste of salt mingling with what reminded him of taffy. Pacifica pulled her hands from his and grasped both sides of his held as he held her. The kiss raged between them, pulling their breath from each other, neither wanting to stop. Both of them breathed hotly as they subsided. Different from his kiss with Candy. Much different. Pacifica looked at him and set her forehead on his.

"There," Pacifica panted. "Now Candy can suck it."

"Not if I'm dating you!"

Both broke down in laughter as she settled back into his hug.

"Hey, Dipper..." she sighed. "I wanna stay like this. This...perfect feeling in your arms."

Dipper closed his eyes. For once, thoughts of the weird, the macabre, Bill...all those thoughts were eclipsed...by simple happiness.

"Me too."


End file.
